


best birthday ever

by superpig909



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Carlos' mom is here too, Developing Relationship, Gina and Carlos are good friends, I don't care I did it anyway, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, do people still write soulmate au?, first attempt at writing a soulmate au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23337301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superpig909/pseuds/superpig909
Summary: Carlos had been waiting for Seb's 16th birthday since they first met in middle school. But now Seb was acting weird.AU where the first words your soulmate say to you appear on your body on your 16th birthday.
Relationships: Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Comments: 6
Kudos: 70





	best birthday ever

“Have you talked to him yet?” Gina elbowed him, jerking Carlos out of his very obvious staring. 

“Hmm?” He turned toward her.

“There’s no way you forgot. Seb’s birthday was on Friday? Ring any bells?” Gina kept pressing until Carlos shook his head. “Wait were you wrong?”

Carlos returned to staring at Seb. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet.” He’d been acting strange since they got to rehearsal. _Was_ Carlos wrong?

“Maybe he just forgot what your first words were,” she rushed to reassure him. “Maybe he just doesn’t know what to say. Or he’s waiting for you to get your words too.” 

“Yeah, maybe.” She awkwardly patted him on the shoulder and left to start her dance warmup. _Maybe._

Carlos had been waiting for this day since he first talked to Seb in middle school. They had been paired together for a history project and Carlos had immediately known. He had had a gut feeling that Seb was his soulmate. How could he not be? Carlos had felt safe with Seb, more comfortable to be himself than with any other person, he still did. They hadn’t suddenly become great friends in middle school after that, but Carlos had continued to observe from afar. Seb was enthusiastic and sweet and everyone always loved him. And when he came out last year, Carlos had allowed himself to hope a little more. Middle school Carlos hadn’t been confident being himself yet, not like he was now - and he hadn’t been great at making friends. He still wasn’t, if he was being honest. But they had reconnected this past year thanks to Miss Jenn and the musical. And Carlos had kept hoping his gut feeling was right.

They had gone to homecoming together. And they had danced in front of the whole school. And even though Seb had been three hours late, Carlos was just happy he came at all. Everyone thought they’d start dating after that. One of those quick, simple relationships before you meet your soulmate. But they had just kept dancing circles around each other with the flirting and the pet names and the kisses on the cheek. It made him ridiculously happy to say Seb was his friend, even more so when he started noticing them edge closer to being more than that.

But now? Seb just turned 16 which meant he got his soulmate tattoo and now knew if they were meant to be together. It was the one thing they never talked about despite telling each other every other detail about their lives. Carlos had stayed up all night, hoping for a phone call or a text. But he got nothing. Nothing for the rest of the weekend too.

And now it was Monday and Seb was acting weird.

Carlos saw Nini rush past him and he quickly latched onto her arm. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Is Seb okay? He’s acting a little off.” Nini glanced at Seb staring silently at the piano. She dropped her voice to a whisper.

“His 16th birthday was this weekend. Apparently not very good first words. Natalie told me. She said he refused to show her.”

\--- 

Carlos didn’t get any sleep that night. He felt fairly confident that he remembered their first words to each other verbatim. Could he be wrong? Carlos didn’t think they were anything generic like “hello” which some people got. Actually he was sure that they were unique. Should he text Seb and just ask? They were friends! It wouldn’t be weird! But what would he even say?

Carlos pulled out his phone and opened a new message.

_hey, everything alright? you seemed distracted at rehearsal today_

Almost immediately he saw the three dots appear as Seb typed a response. They stopped. Why was he being left on read? The only thing Carlos could think of was that Seb did know who his soulmate was but it wasn’t him. Maybe Seb was trying to save him the embarrassment after three months of flirting. He must know Carlos liked him and didn’t have a shot now that he had his tattoo. Carlos’ stomach flipped. What if Seb’s his soulmate but he’s not Seb’s?

His chest hurt with this realization and he could feel his lungs tighten. He shook his head, trying to calm himself down. Carlos looked back at his phone. He was trembling. _Fuck. Okay, stop. You’re not going to cry over a boy. Just calm down._ He took a deep breath in and shakily exhaled. A tear streamed down his right cheek. He shook his head one more time before collapsing onto his bed, letting the tears fall.

\---

The next morning, Carlos dragged himself out of bed and threw a hoodie on, not even bothering to check his appearance in the mirror.

“Woah! What’s up with the hair this morning?” His mom teased, the smile dropping as Carlos just shrugged in response. “Carlos? What’s gotten into you?” She smoothed his hair down with her fingers.

“Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Are there ever situations where someone has a soulmate but they’re not that person’s soulmate?”

“Honey, are you getting anxious about your birthday in a couple weeks? Because I promise it’s going to be fine-”

“No, Mom. I mean, yes I’m worried. But no- I don’t know.” Carlos let out a deep sigh as his mom pulled him closer and rubbed his shoulders.

“It’s all gonna be fine! I know your dad and I probably aren’t great examples to look to for this stuff. I mean, we met when we were toddlers and were inseparable ever since. But most people don’t find their soulmates until they’re much older. There’s no pressure to find him now. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“But what if I think I found him already and I’m not his soulmate.” He knew his mom must be surprised at the amount of honesty coming from him, but he was too tired to filter himself, especially since Seb still hadn’t texted him back. 

“You know this for a fact?” She frowned. 

Carlos shook his head. “Just a feeling.”

“Honey, I don’t know if that happens. But I do know that your true soulmate will love you no matter what. How could they not?” She went back to teasing, squeezing his face between her hands. Carlos couldn’t help but laugh and squirm away.

“Okay! Thanks, Mom.”

“Anytime. Now fix your hair.” She swatted at his head again and laughed as Carlos dodged her.

\---

It was now a full week since Seb’s 16th birthday and Carlos was more confused than ever. Seb refused to look him in the eye no matter how many times Carlos tried to start a conversation. He always ran off with some lame excuse. Seb was usually super talkative and would gladly stand and chat with Carlos for hours. Now he couldn’t bear to be alone with him.

Carlos would be lying if he said it wasn’t messing with his head. It didn’t help that his birthday was getting closer every day. He couldn’t sleep. His stomach was tied up in knots. He couldn’t focus on a single thing. It almost cost him a few dancers when he didn’t catch their mistakes in time. Luckily Ashlyn called out a warning so they didn’t all spin into each other.

Mostly, though, Carlos just missed talking to Seb. He missed their Facetime calls and their texts until three in the morning. He missed catching up before rehearsal and staying a little bit longer than everyone else until Seb’s siblings called for him to hurry up. He missed his smile and his laugh and how amazing it felt to be the recipient and cause of both. Now whenever Seb looked at him, he seemed anxious.

After the first few days of no responses to his texts, Carlos took Gina’s advice and stopped. The girl’s only advice was to ignore it and give it time. Ashlyn wanted him to keep trying but after a full week of reaching out to no avail, Carlos felt pretty pathetic. If nothing else, his birthday would give him the answers Seb refused to.

\---

“Do you feel anything?” Ashlyn asked. Carlos had been staring at himself in the mirror for five whole minutes. 

“No.” He shook his head. “Am I supposed to?” Anxiety creeped into his voice.

“I don’t know, EJ didn’t want to tell me what to expect. Said it had to be a surprise to be the full experience.”

Carlos groaned and flopped back onto her bed. It was past midnight. He was now sixteen years old.

“Maybe it takes a long time?” Gina chimed in.

“Not helping.” At first, he thought being with friends rather than family for this moment would be better so he went to Ashlyn’s house. But now he just felt gross and embarrassed. He wished he had stayed at home and dealt with this himself. Ashlyn gasped.

“Carlos look at your wrist!”

He glanced down at his arm where the beginning of cursive writing peeked out from his sleeve. He quickly pulled the rest of his sleeve up and inhaled sharply.

“Holy shit.”

“What does it say?” Gina read over his shoulder, “‘Did you know President James Buchanan was gay?’ Interesting. A little weird.”

“Is that-” Ashlyn started. Carlos nodded. The two locked eyes. “Well, are you going to call him?”

“No.”

“What! Why not? Carlos - you found your soulmate.” Gina exclaimed.

“Because I’m not his!” He stood up quickly. “I’m not his soulmate but he’s mine. He’s blown me off for a month, this is the only explanation and I’m not about to rush to him to find out what I already know.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “I’ve cried too much over this already.” 

“Carlos, we don’t know that yet.” Ashlyn reasoned. Carlos started again but she raised a hand. “We don’t know that yet. Seb is probably just scared, why not ask him why he hasn’t come to you. Ask him for answers. He’s your soulmate.” Gina nodded in agreement. 

“It’s past midnight.” Carlos stared at them.

“So? You stayed up all night on Seb’s birthday. He’s probably doing the same. Call him, go to him, just talk to him, please. You deserve answers.” Ashlyn held out his car keys, holding his eye contact like a challenge.

Carlos broke their gaze first. He sighed. “Fuck it, okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, what have I got to lose?” Carlos felt a burst of confidence. “I’ll go to his house and ask him why he’s been ignoring me for a month and then, I don’t know, declare my love?” 

His friends cheered and hugged him. He really hoped this wouldn’t be a mistake. 

\---

The drive to Seb’s family’s farm went by much faster than Carlos would have liked. The confidence that got him to start the car was diminishing with every mile. His nerves were only worsening. He kept rehearsing what he was going to say in his head. Carlos really hoped Ashlyn knew what she was talking about. 

When he pulled into the driveway, the light was on on the porch. A familiar figure sat on the front steps, face lit up by a phone screen. _It’s now or never._ Carlos jumped out of his car and slammed the door, alerting the other boy to his arrival. He marched toward him.

“Carlos, what are you-” he started, cut off by Carlos pulling him to his feet and kissing him. Seb hummed into the kiss before returning it just as fervently. It felt like decades before they pulled apart. Carlos could feel the blush rising in his cheeks.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Sorry, I had a whole speech planned and then I saw you and I don’t know-”

Seb cut him off. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” They fell into silence, staring at each other. Carlos took a deep breath. “I think you’re my soulmate.” 

Seb laughed, “I kind of figured that one out when you kissed me.”

Carlos frowned. “You’ve been ignoring me.”

Seb sighed and looked at his feet before turning around and sitting back on his front steps. Carlos followed suit, maintaining a few inches of distance between them. “I’m really sorry, it’s all my fault-”

“Are you saying you’re not my soulm-”

“No! No, no, that’s not what I’m saying!” He turned to face Carlos, reaching for his hands as he shook his head. “I’ve been the worst and I’m so sorry.”

“Then why have you-” He stopped when Seb pulled down his shirt collar, revealing his tattoo: _Why are you like this?_

“I got scared. I wanted it to be you so bad and when this showed up, I was so excited. But you know me, I started overthinking. I thought maybe the words were said by someone else, someone who meant it in a really mean way. Not in a joking way, like you did. I got really anxious and I didn’t know what to do. I kind of figured it would be easier to just wait until you got your words? That’s why I was outside, I wanted privacy in case you called me. I should have told you from the start. This has been the longest month of my life and I’m so sorry.”

Carlos took in the information; he couldn’t believe it. They were soulmates. He was right! Seb was his soulmate! _His_ soulmate! His _soulmate!_

“Carlos, please say something.” Seb’s voice was tense. Carlos let the grin take over his face.

“We’re soulmates.” 

“Yeah… is this something you’re okay with?”

“Seb, I have wanted you to be my soulmate since middle school. I’m so far beyond okay with this.”

Seb smiled and it was the best thing he had ever seen. They leaned in, meeting halfway to press their lips together. It was messier than their first kiss, one that only inexperience and uncontrollable smiles could produce. But Carlos didn’t care, they had so much time to get better at it. He leaned back and took in the sight in front of him. Seb’s cheeks were bright red and his hair was a mess but he looked radiant. And Carlos was so in love with him.

“So you’re not mad?” Seb joked. Carlos shook his head.

“Best birthday ever.” He leaned in again.

**Author's Note:**

> Cool cool, hope you liked it! I couldn't stop editing it but I decided to just post it anyway otherwise I never would have.
> 
> Idk if people still do the soulmate au thing but I don't care because I like it and wanted to write it anyway.


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